The late P.T. Barnum—renowned showman and one of America’s first millionaires—summed up one of the hardest lessons in the investing world with one succinct quote, “money is a terrible master but an excellent servant.”
While there has never been a shortage of people willing to give their opinion on what stocks are flying under the radar, or how one’s portfolio should be diversified, relatively few know where to begin when discussing the cost of investing.
Fees play a crucial role in how financial advisors make their money. Over a few decades, a discrepancy of even 0.5 percent could mean a difference of tens of thousands of dollars for the owner of the portfolio.
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